Witches, Vamps, and Demons, oh my! A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I just wrapped up A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and I was so amped up about it that I had to tell all of you about it.

Before a six hour drive to Phoenix, I was perusing audiobooks for purchase on my iPad (trust me, makes time go by SO much faster) when I saw the #3 top rated book was on sale for less than six bucks! The list price was intriguing but the title, A Discovery of Witches, had me going “hmmm”. Now, I am not afraid to admit that I loved the Twilight Saga series – the BOOKS not the movies (I read them all before the world went crazy for Stewart and Pattinson). The description of A Discovery of Witches touted to be an adult version of Twilight; a juicy sci-fi tale with romance and more intellectual depth. With the price, the rave reviews from readers, and a long road trip in front of me, I bought the 25-hour long audiobook and hit the road. Before I was even out of Los Angeles – I was hooked! I spent the drive to Phoenix and back listening and several tv-less nights thereafter until I finished the epic journey last night. Or did I? I will get to that later.

It takes place in a world where humans unknowingly live amongst three classes of creatures; witches, vampires, and demons. Besides a slightly uneasy, unexplainable feeling while in the presence of creatures, humans have no idea they are sharing the world with some of the characters in horror novels and movies. Easiest to understand, the witches look like normal human beings. Vampires do not burn in the sun, or even “sparkle” like the Cullen family. While they are slightly more pale than usual, they look like a more attractive Joe Schmoe. Throw everything you may think of Demons out the window – Harkness’ demons are geniuses only with severe mood changes. Readers will discover some of the world’s greatest philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians were more than just brainiacs – they were creatures.

This novel follows Diana Bishop, a witch. I won’t give anything away, but if you know of the Salem witch trials, then her last name should jump out. This intellectual no-magic using witch finds herself in a whole heap of trouble after an ancient manuscript falls in her lap. It sets her on a course that will turn her life upside down. Along the way she befriends a very old and handsome vamp, Matthew Clairmont (a better Edward Cullen). Go to Harkness’ website for more details.

I was in a brief state of misery when I finished the book. How could it end that way? I wanted more – so much more! Thankfully, I eased my anxiety when I did a little googling. I knew nothing of the book, as mentioned previously, and had no idea A Discovery of Witches was the first book in a trilogy – All Souls Trilogy! Thank you Deborah Harkness! In fact, the second book, Shadow of Night was just released days ago on July 11th! Score!!

As if that wasn’t enough – I discovered Warner Bros acquired movie rights to A Discovery of Witches! Ahhh! I can’t wait. As far as I could find in doing research, Producers Denise Di Novi (Edward Scissorhands) and Allison Greenspan (The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants) are attached to the film. The cast has not been announced.

Needless to say, if you need some summer reading material – check this book out.

XO,

Tosha – The Princess

I pose some questions to those who have read A Discovery of Witches (answer in the comments section below):

1. What did you think of the book?

2. Are you excited for the movie?

3. Who would you cast in the roles of Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont?